Project Update: Identity & Experience Audit Summary

The Identity & Experience Audit for the ThisIsDearborn project is now complete.

The Identity & Experience audit is the summary of what we’ve learned during the Research & Public Engagement phase of the project.

It compiles insights from our research, surveys, interviews, focus groups, workshops, and site visits to understand Dearborn’s fundamental identity and experiences. Based on this data, the audit establishes core Focus Areas that the brand should attempt to solve, address, or advance. Crucially, these focus areas are designed to be more than just marketing guidelines. They serve as foundational filters for citywide decision-making. By establishing these pillars, the brand becomes a strategic framework that can be embedded into policy, civic alignment, and long-term decisions, driving how the City approaches its broader challenges and growth far beyond just communications.

Now that the audit is complete, the project team will move into the brand strategy development phase.

The following focus areas were established by the audit:

Focus Area 1

Build on the entrepreneurial culture created by Dearborn’s history of innovation and immigration

Dearborn’s history of innovation, industry, immigration, and entrepreneurship has created a culture that values ingenuity, resilience, education, and opportunity. From its roots in the automotive industry to the generations of immigrants who have built businesses, families, and communities here, Dearborn has a long history of people creating new opportunities for themselves and others. That legacy is not simply something to preserve or celebrate; it should serve as a foundation for the city’s next chapter.

The opportunity is to continue building on the qualities that have helped Dearborn adapt and thrive, while creating new opportunities for the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders. As the city considers its future, its history can be a source of momentum rather than simply something to look back on.

WHAT WE HEARD:

• Dearborn has a history of building things. People connect the city’s identity to Ford, manufacturing, immigration, entrepreneurship, and culture of innovation and problem-solving.
• Immigration is part of Dearborn’s entrepreneurial story, not separate from it. Newcomers have historically brought skills, businesses, ideas, and energy that have shaped the city.
• There is pride in being a place where people can build something for themselves. Small businesses and family businesses are an important expression of that self-sufficiency.
• Education and opportunity are deeply connected to this identity. There is a sense that Dearborn has historically been a place where people come to learn, work, build, and create a better future for themselves and their families.

Focus Area 2

Protect Dearborn’s sense of belonging, connection, and self-sufficiency

Survey respondents often described Dearborn as having a “small town in a big city” feel. This isn’t about Dearborn being small or suburban. Rather, it reflects the familiarity, connection, and community that people experience in Dearborn.

Dearborn has the independence, density, diversity, and urban character of a big city, while maintaining the familiarity and connectedness people often associate with a small town. Family, neighborhood, and community ties play an important role in creating this sense of belonging, while Dearborn’s own businesses, institutions, services, and cultural life contribute to its feeling of completeness and independence. At the same time, the qualities that create connection can sometimes make it harder to welcome new people, ideas, businesses, or experiences. The brand should protect what makes Dearborn feel both connected and grounded while ensuring that it remains open and welcoming.

WHAT WE HEARD:

• Knowing your community matters. Familiarity, relationships, hospitality, neighborhood connections, and a feeling that people look out for one another are valued.
• People repeatedly described Dearborn as unusually connected for a city of its size. The “small town in a big city” idea came through as a meaningful part of how people experience the place.
• There is strong pride in Dearborn being able to take care of itself. People see the city as having its own institutions, businesses, schools, services, and cultural infrastructure.
• There can be a dark side to a place where everyone knows each other. Sometimes, the strong sense of community connection can create barriers to people who are not already part of established networks.

Focus Area 3

Give Dearborn the tools to tell its own story

There is a gap between how Dearborn is experienced by the people who live, work, and spend time here and how the city is sometimes understood from the outside. Residents express strong pride in their community and recognize many of the qualities that make Dearborn special, yet those stories are not always easy to find, share, or see beyond the people who already know the city.

The City cannot control every perception of Dearborn, nor should its brand be built around responding to every outside mischaracterization. Instead, the opportunity is to give residents, businesses, institutions, and visitors greater agency in telling an authentic story about the city. By making the lived experience of Dearborn more visible and creating better tools and opportunities to share it, the City can help ensure that its identity is defined by the people and experiences that make it what it is.

WHAT WE HEARD:

• There is so much energy within the community. People are proud of Dearborn and what it is accomplishing, and are exciting for that to continue.
• There is a noticeable gap between how Dearborn views itself and how it is perceived from the outside. People feel Dearborn is often reduced to stigmatizing narratives. Those narratives don’t capture the complexity, history, energy, or everyday experience of the city.
• Residents want more agency over the story. There was a recurring sense that Dearborn should be able to define and communicate itself rather than allowing outsiders to do it for them.

Focus Area 4

Expand the expression of Dearborn’s diversity

Dearborn’s cultural diversity is one of its defining strengths, but the full breadth of that diversity is not always visible in how the city is perceived, experienced, or represented. At the same time, stakeholders see opportunities to broaden the range of businesses, industries, entertainment, and experiences available in the city. In this sense, diversity is not only about who lives in Dearborn, but about the range of ways that diversity is expressed throughout the community and the opportunities it creates.

The opportunity is not to make Dearborn more diverse, but to more fully express the diversity that already exists within it — celebrating the many cultures and perspectives that are already here while creating space for a wider range of businesses, industries, and experiences.

WHAT WE HEARD:

• Cultural diversity is fundamental to Dearborn, but people don’t see it as adequately expressed in the city’s public identity. People want to share a more expansive understanding of what diversity in Dearborn looks like.
• There is a desire for greater business and economic diversity. People want businesses that represent a wider range of cultural traditions, cuisines, and industries beyond the sectors that currently dominate Dearborn’s economy.

The initial Research & Public Engagement phase of the ThisIsDearborn project is now complete.

Over the past several months, we’ve been listening, learning, and gathering perspectives from across Dearborn to better understand what makes the community unique, what matters most to residents, and what opportunities exist for the city’s future.

This summer, we hosted five virtual listening sessions focused on different aspects of life in Dearborn. These conversations brought together residents and community members to share their experiences, perspectives, and ideas for the future. We’re grateful to everyone who took the time to participate and share their thoughts with us.

We also conducted stakeholder interviews with community, business, and civic leaders to gain additional perspectives on Dearborn and its future. We’ll continue to have opportunities to connect with more stakeholders as the project progresses.

The community survey is now closed, with over 500 responses submitted across English, Arabic, and Spanish-speaking audiences. Our partnership with ACCESS was especially valuable in helping us reach additional residents, particularly in the East and South End. Their outreach contributed more survey responses and also created opportunities for people to share their thoughts in person at Dearborn Homecoming.

Thank you to everyone who completed the survey, participated in a listening session, spoke with our team, or shared their perspective in another way. Your input is helping shape the direction of this project.

Now, we’re moving into the next stage of the work: making sense of everything we’ve heard. We’re developing an Identity & Experience Audit that will bring together insights from the community survey, interviews, listening sessions, workshops, research, and our time spent in Dearborn. This internal working document will help the project team and city staff identify the key focus areas that the Dearborn brand should help address and advance.

These focus areas will be about more than marketing. They will serve as strategic filters that can help inform how the City of Dearborn tells its story, aligns efforts across the community, makes decisions, and thinks about its future.

We’re also beginning to plan our next visit to Dearborn, which we anticipate taking place in October. During that visit, we’ll bring early strategic concepts back to city staff and community stakeholders to make sure the direction we’re developing reflects what we’ve heard throughout this process.

We’ve spent the first several months listening. Now, we’re beginning to turn what we’ve heard into a defined vision for the City of Dearborn.

The project team recently completed our first visit to Dearborn, marking an important early step in the ThisIsDearborn branding initiative. We spent our time soaking in the city’s atmosphere, listening to local voices, and getting a firsthand look at what makes this place so unique.

To better understand the stories and history that shape the city today, the team toured several key cultural destinations. Visits to the Arab American National Museum, the Dearborn Historical Museum, and the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation provided essential context and inspiration for the work ahead.

Engagement was the primary goal of the visit, with several opportunities for residents to share their perspectives:

Pop-up Events: The team hosted informal gatherings at The Canteen at Midtown, Haraz Coffee, and Jabal Coffee House, chatting with locals about what makes Dearborn unique.

Committee Kick Off: The visit marked the inaugural meeting of the brand committee, a group of local stakeholders dedicated to guiding the project’s direction.

Staff Workshop: At a meeting with staff leadership, the group discussed the City’s north star and how the brand can influence staff decisions.

Economic Insights: A focus group with small business owners helped the team explore how Dearborn’s distinct identity supports the local entrepreneurial spirit.

No visit would be complete without experiencing the city’s famous culinary scene, and the team enjoyed wonderful meals at local staples like Al Tayeb and Sheeba Restaurant.

This initial visit helped establish a strong foundation for the work ahead. The team is walking away with a deeper appreciation for Dearborn’s vibrant energy and looks forward to continuing this collaborative journey with the community!